Need meal planning inspiration....

[FrazzleRock]

I need to combine weight watchers with GI (dh doing gi, me doing ww)
DH likes loads of flavour so nothing too bland - although I really don't mind bland!
Has to be fairly cheap.
Easy to make.

I'm doing the weekly shop tomorrow so any ideas before then would be marvellous
Any help much appreciated, cheers in advance

Vegetarian would be a good route to take..... Cheap to make, full of '0 point' Low GI vegetables and you can jooshie it all up with spices to get away from bland.
Personal favourite would be a Vegetable Chilli Non Carne with brown rice. WW points will only count the olive oil, beans and rice. Kidney beans, veggies & brown rice are very Low GI

Serves 2
VEGETABLE CHILLI NON CARNE
8oz cooked kidney beans (drained if canned)
-mixed beans produces a more interesting/colourful dish-
400g chopped tomatoes
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 fresh red chilli pepper, deseeded and chopped
2 tsp good quality chilli powder (or to taste)
1 red pepper, diced
1 large courgette, diced
pinch sugar
small bunch fresh coriander leaves, chopped
salt and pepper

4oz brown basmati rice (dry weight)

• Cook the brown rice according to the packet instructions
• Heat the olive oil in a saute pan and add the onion. After a minute or two add the garlic and fresh chilli. Allow to cook for a minute or two until softened
• Add the diced peppers and courgettes and stir fry for another 2 minutes
• Now add the beans, chilli powder, tomatoes, pinch of sugar, seasoning and half the chopped coriander
• Bring to a simmer, pop on the lid and allow to cook for 30 - 40 mins, stirring occasionally.
• When cooked the sauce should be nicely rich and thick. Turn off the heat and stir in the remaining fresh coriander leaves. Check the seasoning.
• Serve over cooked rice. A little plain yoghurt on top is delicious

Chil thanks ever so much.
However, I forgot to mention DH is a meat lover. Still, I can't please him all the time, I'm sure he wouldn't mind a veggie dish once a week. I love veggie food (was brought up vegetarian but eat meat now)
I wil give this one a try

I also forgot to mention he is trying to eat lots of protein in an effort to build muscle and lose weight.
I could add some veggie mince and mushrooms to add to the protein of the beans....

If he's doing a low-GI diet for health reasons & because he's overweight then it actually makes sense to eat rather less meat in total and get his protein from other sources from time to time.... broaden his palate I'm not a vegetarian but another great Low GI, low-point vegetarian dish that even my dyed-in-the-wool carnivorous friend loves is Spicy Beanburger Pittas.

Serves 2
8oz cooked kidney beans or chickpeas (drained if canned)
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
1 egg
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons parsely, finely chopped
1/2 carrot, grated
2 tablespoons rolled oats
Good teaspoon chilli powder
Salt and pepper
A little oil to grease a frying pan

2 wholemeal pitta breads

grated cucumber mixed with plain yoghurt, cayenne pepper and salt as a dressing

• Mash the beans well with the back of a fork or whizz them in a small food processor
• Combine with the other ingredients and mix well
• Leave on one side for about 30 minutes so that the egg is soaked up and the mixture is easier to manage
• Cook heaped tablespoons of the mixture in a greased pan on both sides until firmed up and golden in colour. Flatten and shape as they cook.
• Serve inside the halved pittas with some green salad and some yoghurt/cucumber dressing.

Thanks for that. I adore beanburgers so will definitely make these!